Product architectures and the impact of the legal constraints associated with acquired technologies

The author suggests that in any product area there will be a continuum of potential architectures ranging from ones which are highly random and interdependent to those characterized by distinct functional modules, joined together in noncomplex ways. A typical set of architectures common in the electronic industries is posited. Each of these architectures is discussed from the point of view of appropriability by competitors, cost, speed to market, and the ability to evolve in response to various types of technological change. The impact of typical contractual restraints associated with acquired technologies is then examined in relation to these architectures. It is suggested that architectural choices should be based on an assessment of all the foregoing factors, including the ability of the chosen architecture to accommodate acquired technologies and the disabilities associated with them